6 ms·

I really enjoyed this post. As a kid I used the MultiConfig (based on a guide in PC Magazine!) to have different menus. When all you were trying to run was gam

by hed 3y ago

I really enjoyed this post. As a kid I used the MultiConfig (based on a guide in PC Magazine!) to have different menus. When all you were trying to run was games, maxing your conventional memory was key. I had different combos for sound, no sound, CD-ROM, boot to windows, moving stuff between EMS/XMS so older games could fit. I would meticulously try different combos and seeing that `mem` command return something above 600KB was a reward in and of itself.

arnvidr 3y ago
I did the same thing. I didn't have internet back then, so I assume I also got the knowledge to do this from magazines. Also, lots of time on my hand back then, so probably dove deep into various weird manuals.
- rep_lodsb 3y ago
  I used the "help" command that is included in DOS. Though today is the first time I learned you could have multiple "[common]" sections!
npongratz 3y ago
I was stuck with MS-DOS 5.0 as a child, and was mildly envious of 6.x's MultiConfig that I read about in magazines; it seemed so much better than using boot floppies for nonstandard configurations. So I rigged autoexec.bat to present a menu of various configs and rename the related config.sys files so that the one I chose was used after autoexec.bat ran. Worked quite well; the only minor downside I encountered was having to reboot again when choosing a different config than the one config.sys currently held.
- mike_hock 3y ago
  I thought config.sys ran before autoexec.bat ...
  - jhoechtl 3y ago
    It did for sure
  - netsharc 3y ago
    It seems his/her hack was to select a particular configuration, get autoexec.bat to copy the file with that configuration as the new config.sys, and then reboot the PC so that config.sys would get read at next boot.
    - npongratz 3y ago
      Yes, this is exactly how I did it. That's why I mentioned having to reboot again after choosing a different config.
omnibrain 3y ago
> and seeing that `mem` command return something above 600KB was a reward in and of itself I remember Tornado needing 612kb. That took me some serious optimizing.
- agumonkey 3y ago
  I'm always amazed of times when kilobytes would be life altering
stuaxo 3y ago
I think with NDOS I could get about 617k but that was it.
usrusr 3y ago
A part of me still feels like I could still jump right in, like it would be the most natural thing for me to quickly juggle around some config.sys and autoexec.bat lines to get that balancing act between conventional and extended right for a given game. Iirc for wing commander the amount of one or the other was even key to adjusting simulation speed relative to CPU, more memory allowing more debris particles, slowing down in-game time? The other part of me is fully aware that I have forgotten just about everything, even the filename of config.sys was only resurfaced by other posts here.
- saulpw 3y ago
  I'm guessing you were between the age of 10-20 at that time? Whatever tech minutiae you learned as a tween/teenager will be with you the rest of your life. I still can code in real-mode x86 assembly even though I haven't done so in years. That said, the other reason you could still jump right in, is that these systems were accessible. Small enough to be understandable by a child's brain, a couple of text files you edited by hand, tinkering among a small number of parameters each of which you could test within a few minutes at most, so that worst case you spent a day dinking around with your setup. And without the distractions of the internet or thousands of free ad-supported dopamine pumps to displace your main purpose of getting this game to work. Contrast this with today: you buy a game on Steam for $30, it doesn't work. What do you do? You have to search the internet or go to the forums, and try any number of random things that are in no way contained or enumerable and the knowledge isn't transferable. Our systems are 100x bigger than any single person can conceivably know.
  - RandomGuy456 3y ago
    I totally agree! I was 15 years old at that time. Just edit and reboot until the game run the way I like it. No internet, no distraction. As much a phone call (line phone) to a friend to discuss possible configurations. Golden days!
  - usrusr 3y ago
    Second paragraph is gold, both parts. First unfortunately not true (the rest of your life part, not the numbers)
ubermonkey 3y ago
I never ran 6, but under 3.3 and 4 we (my pals and I) had all created a complicated array of batch files to create multiple booting options (autoexec/config combos). It was originally borne of a need to allow us all to have our own preferred setup on shared PCs in the computer lab we worked in, and just grew from there. My pal Dave may have given us the idea with his scheme of multiple boot profiles on his Amiga, come to think of it. >moving stuff between EMS/XMS so older games could fit. Oh god this. My pal Mike and I -- who, I note fondly, I was visiting with last weekend, 30+ years later -- spent a LONG time basically becoming subject matter experts on DOS memory allocation and manipulation. It was my first experience with hard-won knowledge that was nevertheless useless relatively quickly; I remember NONE of it now. But holy cow we futzed around with this SO MUCH -- initially to accommodate various games or other heavyweight programs, and then out of momentum.
accrual 3y ago
> I had different combos for sound, no sound, CD-ROM, boot to windows, moving stuff between EMS/XMS so older games could fit. A great retro YouTuber, Phils Computer Lab, has a similar menu available for download. It's a pretty slick menu kind of like the one you've described. https://www.philscomputerlab.com/ms-dos-starter-pack.html https://www.philscomputerlab.com/ms-dos-starter-pack.html
singleshot_ 3y ago
I learned Logo in elementary school, and some scraps of basic in junior high, but I have no doubt that my baseline computer systems engineering knowledge came about because if I wanted to play video games, I had to get my drivers and my EMS and XMS squared away. When I hear people today ask, “how do I get into security?” My immediate answer is that you’re going to need a very underpowered 486 and a copy of Wing Commander 3 if you really want to do it right.

by hed 3y ago

arnvidr 3y ago

I did the same thing. I didn't have internet back then, so I assume I also got the knowledge to do this from magazines. Also, lots of time on my hand back then, so probably dove deep into various weird manuals.

rep_lodsb 3y ago
I used the "help" command that is included in DOS. Though today is the first time I learned you could have multiple "[common]" sections!

npongratz 3y ago

I was stuck with MS-DOS 5.0 as a child, and was mildly envious of 6.x's MultiConfig that I read about in magazines; it seemed so much better than using boot floppies for nonstandard configurations. So I rigged autoexec.bat to present a menu of various configs and rename the related config.sys files so that the one I chose was used after autoexec.bat ran. Worked quite well; the only minor downside I encountered was having to reboot again when choosing a different config than the one config.sys currently held.

mike_hock 3y ago
I thought config.sys ran before autoexec.bat ...
- jhoechtl 3y ago
  It did for sure
- netsharc 3y ago
  It seems his/her hack was to select a particular configuration, get autoexec.bat to copy the file with that configuration as the new config.sys, and then reboot the PC so that config.sys would get read at next boot.
  - npongratz 3y ago
    Yes, this is exactly how I did it. That's why I mentioned having to reboot again after choosing a different config.

omnibrain 3y ago

> and seeing that `mem` command return something above 600KB was a reward in and of itself I remember Tornado needing 612kb. That took me some serious optimizing.

agumonkey 3y ago
I'm always amazed of times when kilobytes would be life altering

stuaxo 3y ago

I think with NDOS I could get about 617k but that was it.

usrusr 3y ago

A part of me still feels like I could still jump right in, like it would be the most natural thing for me to quickly juggle around some config.sys and autoexec.bat lines to get that balancing act between conventional and extended right for a given game. Iirc for wing commander the amount of one or the other was even key to adjusting simulation speed relative to CPU, more memory allowing more debris particles, slowing down in-game time? The other part of me is fully aware that I have forgotten just about everything, even the filename of config.sys was only resurfaced by other posts here.

saulpw 3y ago
I'm guessing you were between the age of 10-20 at that time? Whatever tech minutiae you learned as a tween/teenager will be with you the rest of your life. I still can code in real-mode x86 assembly even though I haven't done so in years. That said, the other reason you could still jump right in, is that these systems were accessible. Small enough to be understandable by a child's brain, a couple of text files you edited by hand, tinkering among a small number of parameters each of which you could test within a few minutes at most, so that worst case you spent a day dinking around with your setup. And without the distractions of the internet or thousands of free ad-supported dopamine pumps to displace your main purpose of getting this game to work. Contrast this with today: you buy a game on Steam for $30, it doesn't work. What do you do? You have to search the internet or go to the forums, and try any number of random things that are in no way contained or enumerable and the knowledge isn't transferable. Our systems are 100x bigger than any single person can conceivably know.
- RandomGuy456 3y ago
  I totally agree! I was 15 years old at that time. Just edit and reboot until the game run the way I like it. No internet, no distraction. As much a phone call (line phone) to a friend to discuss possible configurations. Golden days!
- usrusr 3y ago
  Second paragraph is gold, both parts. First unfortunately not true (the rest of your life part, not the numbers)

ubermonkey 3y ago

I never ran 6, but under 3.3 and 4 we (my pals and I) had all created a complicated array of batch files to create multiple booting options (autoexec/config combos). It was originally borne of a need to allow us all to have our own preferred setup on shared PCs in the computer lab we worked in, and just grew from there. My pal Dave may have given us the idea with his scheme of multiple boot profiles on his Amiga, come to think of it. >moving stuff between EMS/XMS so older games could fit. Oh god this. My pal Mike and I -- who, I note fondly, I was visiting with last weekend, 30+ years later -- spent a LONG time basically becoming subject matter experts on DOS memory allocation and manipulation. It was my first experience with hard-won knowledge that was nevertheless useless relatively quickly; I remember NONE of it now. But holy cow we futzed around with this SO MUCH -- initially to accommodate various games or other heavyweight programs, and then out of momentum.

accrual 3y ago

> I had different combos for sound, no sound, CD-ROM, boot to windows, moving stuff between EMS/XMS so older games could fit. A great retro YouTuber, Phils Computer Lab, has a similar menu available for download. It's a pretty slick menu kind of like the one you've described. https://www.philscomputerlab.com/ms-dos-starter-pack.html https://www.philscomputerlab.com/ms-dos-starter-pack.html

singleshot_ 3y ago

I learned Logo in elementary school, and some scraps of basic in junior high, but I have no doubt that my baseline computer systems engineering knowledge came about because if I wanted to play video games, I had to get my drivers and my EMS and XMS squared away. When I hear people today ask, “how do I get into security?” My immediate answer is that you’re going to need a very underpowered 486 and a copy of Wing Commander 3 if you really want to do it right.